Nightmare Landlord - witholding rent questions

BitterAndTwisted

karenlisam wrote: »

I phone all three of the deposit companies this morning (my deposits , DPS and TDS) and as suspected the deposit is not lodged

QUESTION ONE: Can he even apply to the court to have us out once the rent is two months late without having lodged the deposit?? IF not then is it in my best interest to not write him a letter about it to gain time to save?? I'm going to be reclaiming it by witholding rent so its no odds now to me but don't want him doing this to someone else in future. Your landlord cannot issue you with a Section 21 notice to quit until the end of your tenancy agreement, even though he could serve it now.

Question TWO : As I pay rent in advance for the month then if I miss the payment on 1st March and then 1st April is it the 1st of April that counts as 8 weeks (when month two should be paid) or at the end of April (when the 8 weeks is up) You are correct: he could issue you with a Section 8 for unpaid rent on the first day that the second month's rent is due i.e. on the 1st of April. If he then applies to the court you need to be two months in arrears at that date as well. Some tenants ensure the Section 8 cannot be enforced on court date by having the rent outstanding at less than two months.

Bit of a moot point as considering he now owes me half a month rent for the work then I won't be 2 months in arrears until 2.5 months time IYKWIM

QUESTION THREE :
I am getting the invoice for the work I paid for later today. Should I get the builder to write on it cash was received by me and then send a copy to the LL with a written copy that this was agreed to be deducted from the rent on 1st March or should I be doing something else. Yes, you definitely should have the builder note on the invoice that payment has been received in full, paid in cash. You should write to the landlord by Recorded Delivery, enclosing a copy of the builder's receipted invoice, confirm in the letter that it is was agreed that you should pay for these works yourself and deduct it from the rent. Retain a copy of the letter for your own records for use at a later date should this be necessary.

I've taken all my extra photos needed this morning and am going to go and see EH in person on Monday so hopefully he will not be able to do this to anyone in future
Thanks in advance

Good luck!

princeofpounds

Your landlord cannot issue you with a Section 21 notice to quit until the end of your tenancy agreement, even though he could serve it now.

A further detail - if a deposit has been taken but not protected, he cannot issue a section 21 and cannot evict you until he protects the deposit.

karenlisam

princeofpounds wrote: »

A further detail - if a deposit has been taken but not protected, he cannot issue a section 21 and cannot evict you until he protects the deposit.

Thank you. This was why I was asking whether I should write to him about the deposit as I didn't see the point of tipping him off if it meant it would delay court and mean I can put his rent towards !!!!!!ing off sooner rather than later

princeofpounds

This was why I was asking whether I should write to him about the deposit as I didn't see the point of tipping him off if it meant it would delay court and mean I can put his rent towards !!!!!!ing off sooner rather than later

He CAN however issue a section 8 and evict you if you fall 2 months overdue with your rent, so it really doesn't help you at all.

karenlisam

OH MY GOSH
Can't believe I forgot to mention this - I'm not even sure I have a valid contract!!!!!

This is going to sound complicated so bear with me.

The LL is acting on his own with no letting agent involved. When I met him at the house to sign the contract then he told me that his name was X and the house was owned by both him and his business partner person Y.

He told me that the rent was to be paid to his business partner Y and the tenancy agreement was already written out in "the business partners name "and both copies were signed already.

There were no witnesses so the witness section on the contract is blank.

Just to confuse things further by a bizarre twist I found outin January that the gentleman who met me with the contract is a friends ex husband and that there is no business partner and the name on the contract is his so why he pretended to me that the rent was being paid to someone else I don't know.

Does the fact that I have a copy of the contract with no witness signature change anything?

IE can he even chase for rent arrears with the witness sig space blank

N79

karenlisam wrote: »

OH MY GOSH
Can't believe I forgot to mention this - I'm not even sure I have a valid contract!!!!!

This is going to sound complicated so bear with me.

The LL is acting on his own with no letting agent involved. When I met him at the house to sign the contract then he told me that his name was X and the house was owned by both him and his business partner person Y.

He told me that the rent was to be paid to his business partner Y and the tenancy agreement was already written out in "the business partners name "and both copies were signed already.

There were no witnesses so the witness section on the contract is blank.

Just to confuse things further by a bizarre twist I found outin January that the gentleman who met me with the contract is a friends ex husband and that there is no business partner and the name on the contract is his so why he pretended to me that the rent was being paid to someone else I don't know.

Does the fact that I have a copy of the contract with no witness signature change anything?

IE can he even chase for rent arrears with the witness sig space blank

You have a valid contract.
There is no need for witnesses for a "standard" AST. Why on earth a space for them is put on AST templates I really have no idea! However, your LL will be the business partner as they are the person named on the tenancy agreement. Presumably the person you have been dealing with is, in fact, the LL's agent.

karenlisam

No - I didn't explain myself very well but the landlord and the "business partner" are the same man

The man named as the LL (X) on the contract is the same person who pretended to be named someone else when we met to sign

All irrelevant I'm sure but the neighbours and the X wife confirmed that the man who met me was indeed the sole owner and landlord of the house

Nixer

He makes my last landlord look above board and almost competent, which I never thought I'd see. It's a shame that you can't get landlords blacklisted - he's just going to become some other poor tenant's problem once you're shot of him.

Good luck with it

Fire_Fox

Is the name on your contract the same name as the person who owns the property (£4 to download the deeds from land registry website)?

tbs624

OP says LL is a "scary man"

LL has not scheme-registered the tenancy deposit

LL is failing to meet his S11 repairing obligations under the LL&T Act 1985

Property needs to be assessed under HHSRS ( Housing Health & Safety Rating System) via the Council's EHO/TRO.

If the LL is denying that he is actually the LL then he probably has no BTL mortgage nor consent to let, and may not be declaring rental income to HMRC.

Is there a gas safety certificate in place for this property? (assuming that there are gas appliances/CH)

Its pretty clear that whatever the OP does, the LL is unlikely to act in a way that will resolve matters.

OP - there will be a Council Officer called a TRO (tenancy relations officer) or LL Liaison Officer or similar title. They deal only with private sector rentals and they tend to be very busy, so you will have to persist. If you visit in person , or contact him/her by phone, follow it up with a letter confirming what was agreed as a course of action, and keep a copy. As PoppySarah says, use your local councillors too. Don't be fobbed off by EHOs telling you to go away for a couple of months.